Swinley Forest Golf Club Key Information
Swinley Forest serves up a thoroughly enjoyable and entertaining journey forwards through the heather, but also backwards in time. This applies both on and off the course where there is a more sophisticated and genteel atmosphere of days gone by. Subtle changes have kept this engaging course on the top of its game, and a day at Swinley is always a treat.
Reasons To Play Swinley Forest
– A beautiful and endlessly interesting design where strategy is way more important than brute force
– Play the design that Harry Colt described as his ‘least bad course’!
– A journey back in time to the Golden Age of golf course design
Rankings
UK & Ireland Top 100 Golf Courses 2025/26 - 33
Arguably as uncommercial and self-reliant as any club in the Top 100, Swinley Forest Golf Club is very much one of a kind. I have always enjoyed this charming and timeless course which was designed by the legendary Harry Colt, and is one of the very best inland courses in the UK.
Swinley Forest has no need for a captain and you won’t be able to look up your handicap for the round on the England Golf app - this is very much its own club. And as private as it is, its course is much more in the public eye and appears in various world lists. Happily, it is also one that lives up to the highest expectations.
If I was asked to close my eyes and think of what an archetypal, beautiful, traditional, pine-clad golf course looks like… this would be it. This is one of Harry Colt’s greatest and most enduring legacies. One where, aside from the addition of a new back tee here and the odd tweak there, it was so perfectly designed in the first place and sits in such a wonderful location, that little has changed or needed to.
From the moment you arrive, the whole atmosphere at Swinley Forest makes you genuinely feel as though you are stepping back in time. Everywhere, subtlety and understatement is key. Out on the course, then rather than individual standout holes, there is a consistency and great strength in depth. If I was asked to single out just one highlight, it would probably be the par-3 4th, but there is plenty to be admired and enjoyed at each of the other seventeen.
This is one of the best golf courses in England, and the view from the clubhouse sets the scene perfectly. The 1st runs away on your left and the closing hole comes up towards you on the right. Each plays down through the valley and over the stream, although it really shouldn’t come into play. The final green is perfectly situated and calls for a well struck shot to clear the welcoming party of two bunkers just short. With just two par 5s and five varied short holes, it plays every inch of its relatively modest yardage and is one of the best heathland courses in the UK. It is also a course where your score really shouldn't matter… a good thing for me... and one where what does matter, is that it will keep a smile on your face from start to finish.
What's new for 2025/26? What our panellists said...
Stunning land coupled with stunning design is going to yield an all-world golf course - and Swinley Forest is precisely that.
Swinley tempts you to take it on, dares you to carry a bunker, invites you to nip off some heather. All with one clever outcome in mind, to add shots to your score. A wonderful test!
Swinley Forest Golf Club Location
Swinley Forest Scorecard
Best Courses Near To Swinley Forest
Best Places To Stay Near Swinley Forest
Macdonald Berystede Hotel - Book now via Booking.com
Styled like a French chateau, this historical manor has a relaxing spa with swimming pool and gym, and boasts an AA Rosette-rated restaurant. It is set in peaceful gardens and woodland and has an indoor pool with views across the gardens. It also offers an outdoor hydrotherapy pool, thermal suites and beauty treatments.
The Talbot Inn, Woking - Book now via Booking.com
The Talbot Inn serves real ales and locally sourced, seasonal produce in its bar and restaurant. Dating from the 18th century, this 4-star hotel has modern, spacious rooms with plasma-screen TV, en suite bathroom and large rain shower.
Swinley Forest Gallery
Historical Top 100 Rankings UK&I
- 2025/26 33
- 2023/24 35
- 2021/22 39
- 2019/20 39
- 2017/18 38
- 2015/16 38
- 2013/14 34
- 2011/12 40
- 2009/10 36
Frequently Asked Questions
Does Swinley Forest take visitors?
There was a time when golf was restricted to members and their guests only, but with a little preparation and organised approach, it is certainly possible to play at this lovely club.
Has Swinley Forest ever hosted an important championship?
The club has traditionally been one of the most private in the Top 100 and so has never really sought wider acclaim. Golf here is far more about the company and fun than it is scorecards and the World Handicapping System - if you play here, you are already a winner!
